Rep. Hunter was kind enough to take a short break from his duties tonight in order to field some questions. He was working late to fight for his amendment to the transportation bill under debate which block the implementation of the NAFTA Superhighway. The proposed highway would form a corridor which would unite Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
Here are some highlights:
Rep. Hunter believes that the fight against this Superhighway is more than just an issue of fair trade. Several Chinese companies operate out of Mexican ports that will be serviced by this Superhighway. This is a national security issue.
Keeping good jobs in America is a national security issue as well. As the nation ages, the loss of well paid and highly productive engineering and manufacturing puts our future at risk by fostering dependence on other nations.
I was able to ask Rep. Hunter whether he felt the Democratic candidates take the threat of Islamic Terror seriously. He responded that many still seen to be in “law enforcement” mode when it comes to terror, and he disagrees with the “criminal justice” method of combating terrorism. Terrorists have displayed a depth and sophistication in their strategy that will defeat attempts to thwart their actions via law enforcements methods. The Democrats do not seem to understand this.
Rep. Hunter was then asked about the Ames Straw Poll. He stated that he was in Iowa just last weekend and will return there shortly. He is committed to working as hard as he can to bring his message of border security, strong national defense, and bringing good jobs back home from overseas to Iowa Republicans. Iowa is not less important because of Feb. 5th.
Rep. Hunter went on to say that Republicans who want a secure border within six-months of the inauguration should vote for him as he knows how to get it done since he is responsible for the fence that was built in his district which has vastly reduced border crossings, drug trafficking, and crime overall. He mocked other candidates who suggest that it cannot be done or incorrectly refer to it as a “wall”. The way for the fence to get built is to hire multiple contractors in multiple states who can work separately until their respective portions are united into the completed fence.
Many thanks to Rep. Hunter and John Hawkins of Right Wing News for making this conference call happen tonight.
July 24th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Good on him.
However, is he going to stay in the race after Ames?
July 24th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I’ve been a bit puzzled by Duncan Hunter.
Most of the non-toptier candidates have a specific campaign strategy to try and win the nomination.
TT is totally focused on Ames, and will drop out if he does badly.
Brownback is also totally focused on Iowa, as a state similar to Kansas, and court social conservatives. Pour money into Ames and build momentum from the Iowa Caucases.
Huckabee is focused in the south, and has recently focused more heavily on Iowa. Relying on debate performances to push him to the forefront.
Tancredo just goes on about Immigration.
Paul is running a national campaign, anti-Iraq war etc and has built up a strong web campaign.
But whats Hunter’s plan? He hasn’t focused anywhere that I can see. His Ames operations have been much more low key than the others. He hasn’t stated a need to do well there. And yet he’s attacked the front-runners in a way that suggests he’s not in it to be a VP or Admin figure. What gives?
July 24th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
But whats Hunter’s plan?
To build a BIG fence.
July 24th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I dunno JayPe. I’m guessing that his seeming lack of strategy has alot to do with the type of campaign it looked like we’d be seeing 4 or 5 months ago. Four or five months ago, Duncan Hunter was THE candidate of conservative net-base. He consistently dominated FreeRepublic polls. If anyone was breaking out of the bottom-tier, he seemed to be the most obvious choice. But, all the Hunterites have jumped ship to Thompson, and I’d guess that whatever sort of plan Hunter had, completely dissipated in the process. It’s a real shame, since he’s my second favorite candidate in the field, and is considerably more serious (and more qualified) then Thompson. He’s also turned in uniformly impressive debate performances. But, he’s the only candidate that I couldn’t envision winning anything of significance, in any conceivable universe. Perfect storms over the next few weeks could lead Tommy Thompson, Brownback, Huckabee, or Paul to win at Ames. It’s exceedingly unlikely, but possible. Hunter just seems to be wasting his time at this point, now that our conservative messiah has arrived. Or is very near to arriving. Sometime in the next century surely.
July 24th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
I love Hunter, because he can build fences with his bare hands.
July 24th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I agree, though, JayPe — what is Hunter doing? He — now that Gilmore is gone — is the one that I always forget is running. He’s just sort of hanging around, doing his own thing, trying to have fun on the trail. That’s his strategy: have lots of fun.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I hope Hunter doesn’t have fun running an irrelavant campaign. I don’t want to see 55 candidates in 2012/6 who are former or current politicians, most of them running just to have fun.
And actually, I always thought from the outset that Gilmore was running to life his profile and his network before plunging back into Virginian politics. So from that point of view it was worthwhile for him.
Does Hunter have any interest in Californian senate seats or governors mansions?
July 24th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Well…there’s the race against Boxer coming up in 2010, if I’m not mistaken? Schwarzenegger is supposedly interested. I doubt that Hunter would beat him for the nomination. But that primary is almost three years away. That couldn’t be it.
I honestly think he’s running just to entertain himself.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
What about T. Thompson? Why is he running? Any Wisconsin stuff coming up?
July 24th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
“Thommy” “my hearing aid messes up during important questions” “I ride a motorcycle” Thompson’s big strategy is to win Iowa. He’s posted some high single-digit numbers there in a few polls. He’s better positioned than, say, Brownback, Tancredo, or Gilmore there, in my estimation.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Oh, but why is he running? No, he genuinely wants to be President and thinks he’s capable of being President, I believe. He’s been a successful governor and a Secretary for the federal Department for one *the* hot button domestic issues.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:33 am
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